Prototype / Episode 1

Miscalculation is the first episode of Prototype.

Characters

 * Kaneki Ciel
 * Kaneki Kohaku
 * Kaneki Alice
 * Mahiru Amaya (Briefly)
 * Humanoid robot
 * Ciel's Parents (Mentioned)

Episode
The smoke had completely dissipated. They looked at each other. The face of the blue-haired girl was full of misunderstanding, while that of the humanoid was perfectly serene.

"The moment I met his dark eyes, I knew my life would never be the same again."

A few hours earlier

In a dark room resembling a laboratory whose only source of light was a small lamp, a blue-haired girl with a serious expression was writing on a large sheet of paper. The silence was absolute, and only the rasping of the pencil that the girl was using could be heard across the room. Suddenly she stopped abruptly, and her facial expression slowly turned from seriousness to irritation.

"Grr, that's still not it!... » The girl grunted.

Out of sheer frustration, she crushed the paper in her fist before swinging it toward the trash. Unfortunately, she missed her target miserably and the paper ball landed right behind the trash.

"Why doesn’t this work? It's been at least a month since I thought about this equation!" She thought, annoyed.

With these last words, she threw herself head first on her bed. For most people, her room might seem strange, but to her, her room is perfect. For most people, a 14-year-old girl desperate trying to solve an equation that the whole scientific community considered impossible instead of being at school was odd at best, at worst crazy. To her, it was just another average day.

Yes, this girl named Ciel was different. She did not conform to the "standard". Of course, she knew every human being was different from each other, yet, according to her, mankind all shared one single common trait:

« It's their stupidity. Yes, human beings are greedy creatures who are unable to learn from their mistakes and reproduce them tirelessly. At each conflict, there is always a story of money, pride, power and fame at stake. It is always the rulers who start wars, but are never the ones who know the horrors and who pay the consequences. They always think that weapons are a solution to all disagreements. Instead of helping each other, people would rather beat each other if it can be beneficial to them. They are unable to understand their fellow beings and sympathize with the pain of others. They are only able to betray the ones they call "friends" if it can save themselves. Humans are constantly killing nature and animals, which even have more humanity than they do. Parents often tell their child to smile, while that they know they could all die tomorrow. Humans will cause their own extinction. It's just a matter of time. Anyway, I hate this rotten world. »

Ciel did not even realize she was speaking to herself. She was talking about humans in third person because she refused to be part of that category. In her eyes, there was no one else but herself in whom she could trust in this world. And yet ... Ciel could not help but imagining the soft blue sky filled with clouds described in the fairytales she read as a child. She could not help imagining a prince charming riding a white horse that would take her far away ... Very far from here.

Maybe someday-

"Biip, Biip, Biip"

The familiar (and irritating) sound of her cellphone suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. Grumpy, she looked at her cell from afar, wondering who could call her. She was surprised to see her older sister’s name Kohaku, appear on the hologram. Having no desire to discuss, Ciel simply decided to ignore the call, as she always did. However, her sister persisted and this had the effect of irritating Ciel even more.

"When will she finally give up? I don't want to take her call!"

Finally, the phone ringing stopped. Ciel started to get up and go on thinking about this equation but a "Bip" told her that she had received a text message.

Ciel sighed a long time.

"Surely umpteenth warning from my school to tell me that if I continue to be absent, I will eventually be expelled." She thought.

She grabbed the phone anyway, and was once again troubled: it was a text from Kohaku. Ciel opened her messenger with apprehension.

"Hi, little sister (Ciel winced). It's been a long time, huh? How are you ? Alice and I planned to go out to the mall and we wondered if you would come with us. We would really like to see you and talk to you, you know, like normal sisters.

So, what do you say?"

Ciel was already typing the first letters of her answer "No(pe)," but a thought held her back. Not that she especially wanted to see her sisters, but perhaps an outing like this would allow her to refresh her mind, and thus find the correct formula for solving the impossible equation.

Ciel answered with a hesitant "Ok".

Her sister's answer did not wait : "Great! We will wait for you right in front of the park. You know, the one we often played together when we were kids. "

"Suuure. I'll be there in about 20 minutes. "

"In about 20 minutes, if I don't get lost on the way." Ciel whispered. She wondered how long she had been locked up herself in her lab. A week ? A month ? A year ? She did not even know.

Ciel dressed with the first clothes she found, took a random bag and looked at the time in her phone: it was 3 pm.

Then, she went out of her house.

The moment she stepped outside, Ciel instantly regretted her decision. The light of day hit her face hard and reflexively, she covered her eyes. Fortunately she had anticipated this, so she brought a pair of sunglasses.

Only thanks to Google Maps, Ciel manages to make her arrival time. Arriving in front of the park, a feeling of nostalgia took hold of her and she soon noticed Alice and Kohaku who were there as well, as planned.

"This place is nostalgic, huh?" Alice declared with a soft expression in her face. " Isn't it time to go?" Ciel said, hoping to avoid the question. "You're right, here we go !" Kohaku exclaimed. She happily took the hand of her two sisters (Ciel slightly shuddering at her touch) and she dragged them to the mall.

Ellipse about 1 hour

It had now been at least an hour since they had entered the mall, trying on many clothes, and doing many other activities such as the Purikura, though Ciel was barely involved and was always in the background.

To tell the truth, the blue-haired girl was already feeling anxious, as she left her lab for too long. In the middle of the crowd, Ciel was on the alert. Indeed, she felt as though she was in enemy territory and Alice, noticing her sister's discomfort very well, offered to eat something. Ciel nodded immediately. Once they arrived at a little café, the three sisters sat down at a table and Ciel finally relaxed her muscles. She ordered a Pancake and Iced Ta, Kohaku chose some Ichigo Daifuku, while Alice opted for a piece of apple pie.

After being served, an awkward silence settled on the table. Kohaku was the one who took the initiative to break it :

"Ciel-chan, you know..." Kohaku began her sentence with a solemn voice, the moment Ciel chose to take her emergency game console out of her bag. "We thought about it a lot and ..." Alice added.

She started the game console.

"We miss you. The atmosphere at home is sad without you ... "Kohaku revealed timidly. A certain red plumber appeared on the screen.

"Actually, we'd like you to come home with us-" Alice did not have time to finish her sentence.

The game console fell to the ground with a deafening noise, which attracted the attention of other customers around.

"So that was it ... Did you just bring me here to ask me to come back?" Ciel's voice was emotionless, which did not sound good ... "You know, even Dad and Mom are so sad that they don’t get to see you-" Ciel could not take anymore. She stood up suddenly, causing her chair to fall to the back. "Error ! These two don't care about me and they never did! If they actually did, they would have tried to hold me back, and it would be them who would try to get me back, not the both of you! " Kohaku stood up too. "You know as well as we that’s not true. They are just too ... Awkward to show it. They care about us." Kohaku affirmed seriously. "And we are sure they would be happy if you returned home." Alice smiled in the hope that her younger sister would calm down. "How can you be so sure ?!" Ciel replied aggressively. "Because it's them who asked us to bring you back! » Kohaku confessed. " ENOUGH ! Listen, I'm tired of you, I'm tired of them and I'm tired of this rotten world! Go to Hell! Now. Just. Leave me. Alone!" A tear was slowly running down her cheek. "Ciel-chan! " Alice shouted. " Wait !" Kohaku tried to hold her back.

But Ciel ignored them and rushed out of the café under the stunned eyes of the customers. She swept aside the tear that was beading on her cheek, and ran with all her strength. She did not care about the bystanders that she was jostling on her way. She had to go back to her lab, the only place where she was safe. In her mad rush, Ciel violently struck a red-haired young girl who seemed to be about her age.

"Oh sorry, you're bleeding ... Oh wait, you're ..."

Nevertheless, Ciel did not even bother to look at her, or care about the pain and just got up to leave.

The teenager had the impression that she had never run so fast in her life. After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Ciel eventually managed to get home.

Without further ado, she returned to the place she occupied earlier, that is to say in front of her office and she grabbed a new big sheet of paper.

"Come on, Ciel... This equation should not be that complicated.... " She said to herself.

However, she could not concentrate. As usual, she tried to disregard her emotions with acharnement, in vain. Bright tears blurred her vision, and her throat burned. Ciel recklessly writes the solution she thought was right. The protocol was finished. Then she went to the table where all the high-tech objects, metals and chemical elements she needed were. After several blends and other scientific tinkering, with a trembling hand, she was preparing to perform the final stage of the protocol which consisted of put the drop of the chemical liquid that represented the solution of the equation she had made. And then... Nothing more. Ciel's last sensations were the feeling of literally being thrown backwards, a sudden burning heat and a very unpleasant sound piercing her ears.

A blinding light, the stifling smell of smoke and pains all over her body were the first sensations that struck Ciel when she regained consciousness. Still a little dazed by the shock, she tried to get up by leaning against the wall, and coughed several times because of the smoke that was slow to dissipate.

"What happened? Did I succeed? I did not foresee such an explosion!... " She whispered.

The laboratory was destroyed. No objects were in its place. Someone might have thought that a violent storm had passed by.

Ciel looked desperately for the robot, but there was none. She began to evaluate the possibility of having made a mistake at one time or another. Miraculously, she managed to get her hands on the crumpled sheet of the protocol and re-read it carefully. Her attention was especially captured by the solution of the equation. Then she realized the serious mistake she had made, and banged her head with her fist.

"What an idiot I am ! How could I have made such beginner mistake ?!" She blamed herself. "Now I have to start all over again!...." " She fell to her knees with a discouraged look on her face.

Suddenly, several footsteps echoed through the room.

" Who is here ?" Ciel asked aloudly.

Time having got the better of the thickness of the smoke, Ciel could distinguish a deformed figure. She took a step back, slightly intimidated. As the steps approached her, the figure took on a more and more human form. Finally, it was fully revealed.

"But what is..."

In front of her, the thing who stood wasn't a revolutionary robot... It was a humanoid robot!

"What are you ? "